According to a recent study by Honeypot, the United States is the second-best country in the world for women in tech. The US ranked at the same position worldwide for its percentage of women in senior management positions, although women make up just over 6 percent of CEOs in the Fortune 500.

While women have made incredible strides towards workplace equality, reports show that women can still earn up to 45 percent less than men for the same job, but it’s not for lack of performance.

New data shows that while women and men in their 20’s are promoted at the same rate, men are more likely to be promoted into management roles. The same study showed that women were 22 percent more likely to achieve higher ratings of job performance than their male counterparts.

Not only do women still earn less for the same work, women also have fewer tools for and less knowledge about financial wellness. “Women have come a long way both personally and professionally, but when it comes to their finances, there is still a trail left to blaze,” said Lorna Sabbia, head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Sabbia believes that women need more support in pursuing financial security for life, including investments, retirement savings and additional financial solutions.

What is your company doing to help minimize the gender pay gap and provide financial wellness for all of its employees?

Workforce demographics are changing, reinforcing the need for employee financial wellness.  Millennials are flowing into your workforce and are concerned that social security may not be around for them when they need it. Which may be why they’re proving to be more financially conscious than their older counterparts by contributing at higher rates to their 401(k)s, and are twice as likely than baby boomers to say that stress interferes with work productivity.

Should HR be taking its cues from the IT department? In today’s world, five-year plans and predictable career paths seem out of date. In order to keep up with today’s rapid pace of corporate change, you need a forward-thinking HR department willing to be transformative and meet the demand of evolving skills, technology and work models.

Right now is the best time to plan your new benefits programs for 2019. YouDecide studies and develops enrollment best practices. They’ve determined that Q1 is the ideal time to review last year’s enrollment results, while Q2 should be reserved for assessing employee population needs and evaluating your employees’ overall benefits enrollment experience.

“It’s so obvious.” Millennials, who were raised on technology, are flooding the logistics workforce. Evan Garber, CEO of EVS has created a new warehouse management system: “one device that can do everything” which runs on Apple iOS. And he’s not the only one. More back-office operations systems are being designed to look, feel and run just like your technology at home, an obvious evolution of tech-at-work.

Will HR automation save you time and boost job satisfaction, too? As robotic process automation (RPA) is becoming more commonplace within payroll and benefits practices, many HR teams are realizing the broader opportunities that RPA can bring to their workplace. Between onboarding, recruiting, learning and development, RPA is reducing errors and growing overall HR capacity. Could this be the right tool for you?

Employees know what they want. Studies show that the  digital health benefits employers provide have low engagement while employees are finding solutions to meet their digital health needs on their own. It’s a lose-lose proposition. Is 2018 the year that employers and employees get on the same page regarding benefits?

Do more fertility benefits equal lower turnover? A new report from FertilityIQ shows that workplace fertility benefits directly correlate to strong employee loyalty, higher levels of retention and higher rates of productivity.  Although an expensive investment for the employer, it might be worth it.

Have something to add? Do you have any questions, comments or concerns?
Email us at: info@bestmoneymoves.com.

Everyone knows that a competitive benefits package includes much more than just financial wellness and a good salary. And, an exceptional benefits package may even counteract a high salary expectation.

Piecing together your exceptional benefits package doesn’t need to be difficult. The first step is simple: provide your employees with the tools they need to be smarter about how they handle their personal finances. Your employees are craving financial education – studies show what we already know: your employees need help with understanding how to manage their finances – and they want you to help.

Employee financial wellness doesn’t just create happier and healthier employees. Providing a best-in-class employee financial wellness program increases engagement and productivity while reducing unexplained absences, turnover, and ultimately, healthcare costs. Improving overall financial wellness has a solid corporate ROI – one that you can easily share with your CFO. If you’re seriously looking to attract cream-of-the-crop talent, you also need to offer transformational HR technology. From mobile-first financial wellness platforms to videoconferencing apps, to recognition and rewards, this new wave of HR technology integrates wellness, development, education and performance management. And, with unemployment at or near all-time lows, your company needs every tool available to be on the cutting edge of competitive.

Your employees may not have the tools to deal with workplace stress. Financial stress is the number one source of all employee stress – which not only negatively impacts personal health and wellbeing, it also costs your company money in the form of lost productivity, higher costs in healthcare, higher turnover and more absenteeism. Helping your employees learn how to prevent financial stress, learn how to cope with it and learn how to recover from workplace stressors will be one of the best benefits you can provide.

Are your employees living up to your expectations – or down to them? Often, too many rules can create a work environment where employees feel like they’re stepping on eggshells. GM CEO Mary Barra explains how empowering your employees to make small – yet important – decisions will strengthen company culture while empowering them to step up in other areas, as well.

How do your benefits stack up against those of other employers in your area? Newly published research shows employee benefits choices and costs – by region – as well as data on employer provisions. Both employers and their employees can access information on benefits offerings from across the region. This can help employees better understand their selection of voluntary benefits at their company – and at others.

Are you sending out late-night work emails from the comfort of your bed? In the wake of France’s law banning work email after hours, New York City may be one of the first cities in America to follow suit, banning the requirement of an after-hours response. According to New York City Council member Rafael Espinal, “the lines between our work and personal lives have blurred. My bill will simply protect employees from retaliation when they choose to disconnect.”

Organizational rhythm: have you got it? How can you gauge and identify what makes people behave in the way that they do? What makes your employees tick? Happy employees are more creative and enterprise organizational growth. Organizational rhythm comes once you’ve learned what elements hone your employees’ continued success. “The paradigm shift will only happen when you observe employees from far and see how they behave and converse informally.”

Is your company expanding but leaving women and minorities behind? Even as workplace diversity, equity and equality are on the forefront of HR and media awareness, young women and people of color are still at high risk of discrimination – at all levels of employment. Workplace discrimination can come in many forms, both intentional and otherwise. Employers must ensure that they’re protecting the safety and welfare of all employees by taking stock of their hiring practices, organizational culture, core values and salary structure in order to ensure that all employees are given the same opportunities.

Have something to add? Do you have any questions, comments or concerns?
Email us at: info@bestmoneymoves.com.

Are you looking for a way to turn your employees’ financial stress into financial wellness? Giving them actionable information may just be the ticket – and it’s your lucky month!

This month marks the 18th April in a row to celebrate Financial Literacy Month. Originally promoted by the Jumpstart Coalition as an evolution from the National Endowment for Financial Education’s Youth Literacy Day in 2000,  Financial Literacy Month has come a long way. Reaching from family living rooms to high school classrooms and into corporate boardrooms, decision makers across the spectrum are taking this opportunity to implement conversation, educational programming and benefits plans to meet this important need among people at every age, position and income level. And at the end of the month, the Federal Reserve Banks across the country will celebrate Money Smart Week, where tens of thousands of free money classes will be offered in more than 100 languages.

Read through the Huffington Post’s collection of articles highlighting the importance of financial education and financial wellness during April’s Financial Literacy Month, here:

Financial Literacy Month – Information to Last You Well Beyond April

It’s common knowledge that financial stress is the leading cause of lost productivity, unplanned absences and greater distractions among employees. More than half of your employees say that they want their employers (you) to provide financial literacy education in order to boost their own financial wellness. Let Financial Literacy Month help you to help your employees in order to get everyone on the right track to their own financial wellness.

Don’t forget: there’s not one down side to employee financial wellness. What are you waiting for?

Engage Employees for Successful Financial Planning

Reduced financial stress may reduce health care costs. Financial wellness and physical wellness are directly linked – so, it makes sense that providing financial wellness programs for your employees will inevitably reduce company healthcare costs. And, shouldn’t you apply the same “healthcare metrics” used to track our health – to our money behavior as well?

The Tipping Point of Financial Wellness Looks Like This

When was the last time your company invested in upgrades for its employees? Far too often, employee wellness benefits miss the mark when it comes to blue-collar workers. And these dedicated employees are missing out. Hilton and Hyatt Hotels recognize the importance of investing in all ranks of its employees, both full and part time.

Hilton Hotels’ Newest Upgrades are Strictly for Staff

Despite the rumors, your millennial employees are pretty good savers. Unfortunately, they still don’t know how to properly invest their savings funds. Approximately 42 percent of millennial employees aren’t investing enough for retirement. Here’s why.  

Millennials Are Saving Well, But…

Human Resources departments are being digitized – on a massive scale. And, they’re incorporating everything from metrics to contests to training. Here’s a list of the fastest growing, most transformative and innovative HR tech trends.

Emerging Tech Trends that Will Upend the HR Practices

Yes, it’s still tax season. Thirty-seven percent of young people rely on their parents to file their federal and state income tax forms. If your population is heavily Millennial, they could be distracted this month by the upcoming April 17th deadline. Point them in the direction of IRS.gov for their free file help. And, Money Magazine has a few good last minute thoughts, too.

The Tax Deadline, Early Retirement, & Better Credit

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You might think financial wellness is a fad. Today, employers are focusing on their employees’ financial stress, but will it last?

Given the amount of financial stress employees are feeling – even as the economy continues to improve – it’s clear that financial wellness programs are here to stay.

Over half (52 percent) of America’s hard-working employees have anxiety about dealing with their financial stress – and are completely lost when it comes to doing something about it. They want their employers to step forward and provide the financial education and financial planning tools they need, according to the 2017 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey.

Further, 77 percent of stressed employees say that their stress levels have increased over the past 12 months. This means that in order to have effective employees, employers need to take a hard look at their benefits plans and make serious steps towards providing comprehensive financial wellness benefits in 2018.

But providing reading material and investment advice doesn’t help employees reduce financial stress. Easily measuring their level of financial stress and offering personalized action plans based on deeply specific, personal insights is what your employees need, and what Best Money Moves does best.

Here are five predictions about this year’s employee financial wellness offerings:

2018 Predictions: 5 Trends in Financial Wellness Benefits

Employees with money angst are found to have higher absenteeism and lower engagement. Financial worries not only keep employees awake at night, they also can spill over into the workplace and create significant costs for the employer. Here’s the breakdown on helping your employees that are financially stressed in the workplace.  

How Improving Financial Health Boosts Productivity

Employers are taking notice, in droves. Employees who are stressed are more likely to be distracted by their finances at work, miss work due to their personal financial issues and cite health issues caused by financial stress. Most Americans are seriously anxious about their finances. The time to take action is now – here’s what you can do to help your employees build financial wellness.

Why Workplace Financial Wellness Programs Are Hot

Talent acquisition and retention are struggles that all employers face. Chipotle Mexican Grill and Lowe’s have begun offering their employees courses and skills training, while Walmart and State Street Corporation have started their own employer-provided adoption benefits. They’re expanding on their available perks in order attract and retain top talent. And it’s working. Here’s what you can do to compete in 2018’s tough hiring market.

Tax Reform, Tight Labor Market Bust Open the Lid on Benefits

The U.S. is the only industrialized country that doesn’t legally require paid family leave. Ninety two percent of the U.S. has no legally required healthcare policies – important healthcare provision decisions are left to employers. Just 15 percent of American employees have access to paid family leave through their workplace, and roughly 60 percent can be fired for taking unpaid leave. Does your company offer Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits? If not, perhaps it should.

Millennials Struggling to Care for Aging Baby Boomer Parents Call for Better Paid Leave

Your company still doesn’t offer a 401(k) plan? Here’s why that might actually be a good thing for your employees. The Tax Cut & Jobs Act lowered marginal tax rates, but those rates revert to higher levels in 2026. No one knows if this will actually happen. Assuming that it does, tax rates may never be this low again. Putting retirement funds into tax-free savings plans now can turn into a significant boost to after-tax wealth later.

Why New Tax Rules Make Roth Accounts Better Than Ever

Conflicting information on Millennials has a lot of people confused. Recent research pegs Millennials as either responsible savers far outpacing their Baby Boomer and Gen X counterparts, or self-indulgent and immature, living only in the moment. This hyper-focus on spending and saving habits of the largest generation in history is causing a variety of opinions. So, which are accurate?

Millennials: Serious 401k Savers Or Struggling Spendthrifts?

Will this affect your business? A new legislation calls for a three-tiered state tax on short-term rentals, giving cities and towns the option of imposing additional excise taxes. The bill would impose 5.7 percent and 8 percent taxation for short-term rentals made through a professional property manager or investor host.

House Bill Would Tax, Regulate Airbnb, Other Rentals

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